Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

There was so much great content at the Upfront Summit but I think one held a special place in minds of most people I talked to – our panel on diversity led by my partner Hamet Watt (<– what? you’re not following him?). The message of the panel was very clear – “We don’t need your help. We want to partner with you to make money.” And I’ll elaborate on this but I wanted to start first with an important quote from Magic, said with a very positive

Technical Review 225

Technical Review Startup Course Entrepreneur 225

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Los Angeles-based PeeqSee , a new startup developing social networking and media apps, has launched an app which lets users create interactive, visual posts. The startup--founded by Vacit Arat--lets users posts photos with an interactive component, which unveil additional information when users click on objects in those photos. The company said those "Peeqs" also can direct users to another photo, video, website, message, or video channel.

Social Network 160

Social Network Networking IBM IBM 160

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

We once measured our audience using demographic buckets, especially with the use of age groups, gender, and financial ability as keys. Classic marketing teaches us that this is the best way to define our audience, and to make appropriate pitches that will elicit favorable response from the target audience. Still true, but with a big twist. Using big data that has been mined for specific information, we can now market to individuals within classes, some of whom will not fit the stereotype and wo

Marketing 156

Marketing IP Email Class 156

Jason Nazar

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

What will be the next big thing that everyone talks about? I’ve been asking around and looking at companies, trends, and what else is going on to put together the following list of startups worth watching in 2016. Read at Venture Beat.

Startup 76

Startup Press Company Companies 76

Advertiser: Aggregage

Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.

Company

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2016

“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except all those others that have been tried” – Winston Churchill. At the Upfront Summit this past week there was an electric interview of Fred Wilson led by well-researched and artful Dan Primack of Fortune Magazine that ended up making news. The newsworthy moment was when Fred expressed his view that companies like Uber should go public.

Competition 176

Competition Venture Capital Invest Organization 176

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

If anyone has dreams of a future in space, the folks at NASA's Jet Propulstion Laboratory do--so it's not a surprise that JPL has just released a huge collection of retro-inspired, travel posters to such locations as Mars, Venus, Ceres, and other locations in the far off galaxy. NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program--which is focused on the discovery and understanding of planetary systems around nearby stars--was behind the Exoplanet Travel Bureau posters released in January.

CalTech 141

CalTech Hawthorne SpaceX Technology 141

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Successful entrepreneurs understand the difference between a good business relationship with more people and having more friends. In fact, the focus on social networking platforms, starting with Facebook, has destroyed the meaning of the word friend and even changed it from a noun to a verb. It’s now common to have hundreds or thousands of friends online -- but no relationships.

Entrepreneur 66

Entrepreneur Social Network Technical Review Social Media 66

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

“It was running fine.” In our performance consulting work, we often hear variations of the following: “Our web application was running fine with a few hundred users. Now when we run a promotion with our new partner and get a thousand users coming in at one time, it grinds to a halt.”. We’ve heard this from startup founders, product managers, development team leads, CTOs, and others who see their product gaining traction, but simultaneously see performance falling off a cliff.

Web 286

Web Technical Advisors Framework Technical Review 286

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 12, 2016

Virgin Atlantic is kicking off a series of events for entrepreneurs in Los Angeles, on February 18th, featuring founder Sir Richard Branson. The event--which features Mayor Eric Garcetti, Miguel McKelvey of WeWork, Cassey Ho of Blogilates, and Sean Rad of Tinder--is focused on encouraging the next generation of leaders through the event. Virgin Atlantic said it will be highlighting such startups as Heal, HopSkipDrive, and Focus app at the event.

Los Angeles 133

Los Angeles Entrepreneur Startup Angel 133

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Are you ready to settle down with a streamer, and maybe ditch your cable forever? The big three options right now are Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, and they’re getting bigger: Americans are watching more than an hour of streaming content per day , a number excepted to steadily increase over time. All provide both network TV/cable TV shows, as well as movies and plenty of their own content (live TV is a different story, check out services like Sling TV for that).

Netflix 53

Netflix Hulu Content Outsource Development 53

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2016

Successful entrepreneurs often start with a “random” idea, but they quickly focus their efforts and follow a “system” to organize their startup and maximize the clout of their activities. Too many entrepreneur “wannabes” never get past the idea stage, or strike out randomly in many directions, hoping that their passion will convince people to follow them and make their business grow.

Social Media 63

Social Media Ideas Media Writing 63

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Much has changed in the past four months of the technology startup world and how outsiders value the business. Of course it’s too early to predict whether this is a trend or an aberration but the smartest people I know in the industry are predicting the former. The startup industry may be “resetting,” which doesn’t mean a “crash” but rather just a resetting of valuations, timescales, winners/losers, capital sources and the relative emphasis of growth rates vs.

Startup 229

Startup Pricing Venture Capital Statistics 229

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Larry Ellison , the founder and Chairman of Oracle , has been named the speaker for the University of Southern California commencement, the school said on Thursday. The commencement will be held on May 13th. Ellison founded Oracle in 1977, and was CEO until 2014, when he shifted to Executive Chairman and Chief Technology Officer. USC has regularly tapped figures from the technology world for its commencement; in 2014, the university had Elon Musk, Steve Ballmer, and Marc Benioff as commencement

USC 133

USC Oracle Chief Technology Officer Southern California 133

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Within a few years, digital technology will take over the healthcare system. It has already begun. A few medical facilities are already making use of digital technology. Getting Diagnosed Digitally. If you cannot make it to the doctor’s office, the doctor can do diagnosis digitally. This is a convenient option for the elderly. An example of a digital diagnosis is Neurotrack.

Artificial Inteligence 43

Artificial Inteligence Research Technology Help 43

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

Creating the right company culture must be a top priority of every entrepreneur and business leader. Simply speaking, culture-driven businesses put their people first, and people make the business, rather than the other way around. Today’s business mantra must be “Take care of your people and they will take care of your customers.” Unfortunately, it’s easier said than done.

Company 59

Company Companies Organization Startup 59

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

Dan Primack and Fred Wilson sat down for an interview last week at the Upfront Summit and the results were amazing. It’s 25 minutes and it’s both a pleasure to watch and is super insightful. You can watch the interview embedded above of click on this link: Dan Primack interviews Fred Wilson at the Upfront Summit. The interview was wide ranging and discussed everything from USVs investment thesis over the past 10 years to what some emerging themes are around blockchain and artificial

Venture Capital 167

Venture Capital Artificial Inteligence Invest Funding 167

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

The Pasadena Angels investment group released its investment totals for 2015 this week, saying that it has invested $4.9M across 27 deals in 2015, bringing its total invested since the group was started to over $65M in over 175 companies. The angel groups said thirteen new companies received investments from the group, including Orca Inventory Systems, Episona, Nailsnaps, Pasture Bird, Level27, Datum Security, Veristride, Connected Signals, granPad, Beatshare, Tallygo, Happy Desk, and Pick my So

Pasadena Angels 130

Pasadena Angels Pasadena Invest Angel 130

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Did you know that more than 61 percent of American energy consumption goes to waste? That statistic alone shows that the U.S. is in dire need of a more environmentally conscious attitude. The good news is, if you really want to save the planet, you don’t necessarily have to sell your car and live off the land. You can start with a few simple changes in your very own home — and home automation can help.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Technology Mobile Statistics 40

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Did you ever wonder why some entrepreneurs always seem to have all the luck and success, while others never seem to catch a break? As an angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers. These differences are the reason that investors say that they invest in people, rather than ideas.

Startup 57

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Examples 57

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

By far the most popular post on this blog is 32 Questions Developers May Have Forgot to Ask a Startup Founder. It was originally written in 2011 and has had amazing staying power. While I’ve updated it a few times, it continues to get at important questions that startup founders need to be asking. I find myself sending it to startup founders all the time – maybe just slightly less than Free Startup CTO Consulting.

Startup 150

Startup SEO CTO Coach Web 150

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Eytan Elbaz , the co-founder of gaming developer Scopely , and one of the founders of Applied Semantics, which is now Google AdSense , said he has launched a new company in Los Angeles called Render Media. Elbaz said the new company was launched with Vic Belongoff, and will focus on digital media publishing. The new company will own existing news sites Opposing Views and America News , as well as food publishing site Food Please and a video site called Watch This.

Media 122

Media News Sites Google 122

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

techzulu posted a photo: via Instagram bit.ly/1ow6yXN.

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40

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2016

Having the best solution is a good start these days, but a solution alone is no longer enough to keep customer attention and loyalty. They expect to be surprised and delighted as well by their pre-purchase experience and post-purchase interactions. The most memorable businesses, like Starbucks and Apple, no longer sell products, they sell ‘experiences’ with a product at the center.

Custom 56

Custom Customer Startup Competition 56

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

San Diego-based Qualcomm said today that it has rolled out a new systems-on-a-chip (SoC) platform, specifically aimed at the wearable market. Qualcomm said that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, has launched the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear , specifically aimed at use in wearables. The SoC is available in Bluetooth/Wi-Fi and 4G/LTE/3G versions. Qualcomm said its Snapdragon 400 processor already is being used by most available Android Wear smartwatches.

San Diego 122

San Diego Platform Marketing Technology 122

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

One of the big advantages of starting up a new company in the region in recent years has been a large number of startup accelerators, who have been driving a lot of the new startups in the area. One of those accelerators�focused exclusively on hardware�is Make In LA (www.makeinla.com). We caught up with co-founder and General Manager Noramay Cadena to learn more about the accelerator.

Startup 122

Startup Incubator Invest Resource 122

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Breather , which operates a network of meeting rooms, offices, and other spaces aimed at the flexible work space market, said it plans to expand into Los Angeles this year, as part of a national expansion. The company--which currently operates short term, on-demand meeting spaces in the Bay Area, Boston, New York, Montreal, and Ottawa--said it targets professionals, tech companies, business travelers, remote workers, creatives, and others looking for flexible meeting spaces.

Los Angeles 122

Los Angeles Demand Angel Networking 122

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Los Angeles-based residential solar energy provider American Solar Direct has raised a round of investment, from Dubai-based solar developer and investor Adenium Energy Capital. Size of the funding round was not announced. American Solar Direct said the investment is Adenium's first investment in the United States. The new funding will go towards accelerating growth and expansion at the copmany.

Invest 122

Invest Funding Los Angeles Capital 122

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Irvine-based Viant , the parent company of Specific Media and Myspace , has been acquired by publisher Time Inc. , the companies said this morning. Financial details of the asset deal were not announced. Time said the buy will help it participate in the performance advertising segment. Viant, which is led by Tim Vanderhook, was founded in 1999 as Specific Media, and acquired Myspace back in 2011.

Media 116

Media Advertising Help Company 116

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX , the Los Angeles area rocket launch company, looks to be targeting its next launch for February 24th, according to client SES. SES--which operates a fleet of telecommunications satellites--said it is hoping to launch its SES-9 telecommunications satellite on a SpaceX Falcon on February 24th, after delays to the SpaceX launch schedule last year due to a launch failure.

SpaceX 116

SpaceX El Segundo Hawthorne Los Angeles 116

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Santa Monica-based streaming television provider Hulu said Thursday that it has locked down the exclusive streaming rights to Syfy's 12 MONKEY, in a deal with NBCUniversal , in addition to gaining rights to Battlestar Galactica and Saved by the Bell, and adds more episodes from Bob the Builder, Thomas and Friends and Barney. Financial details of the deal were not announced.

Hulu 109

Hulu Santa Monica Company Companies 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Los Angeles-based domain name registrar XYZ says it has just passed 2,000,000 registrations on its domain extension, just over a year after reaching the 1M registrations mark in June of 2015. The company, led by startup veteran Daniel Negari, said that over 700,000 of its registrations so far have been in China. The company said some of the highlights of the new domains include Starship.xyz , the robot delivery firm founded by Skype co-founder Janus Friis, Crowding.xyz , a Mexican crowdfunding s

Sites 109

Sites Los Angeles Help Startup 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

A new study, released today by the Pew Research Center , says that more American adults are using online dating sites or mobile apps than ever before. The study , which did not track exactly what mobile apps and sites users have been flocking to, said that 18- to 24-year olds has increase nearly threefold, with usage by 55- to 64-year-old users doubling since 2013.

Study 109

Study Sites eHarmony Mobile 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Los Angeles-based finance and accounting automation software developer BlackLine reports this morning that it added 393 new customers in 2015 and now has over 1300 customers around the world. The company said that among the new clients it added during the year were Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Malaysia Airlines, Roku and Trivago. BlackLine said that among the biggest area of growth for the company were mid-market companies, in addition to its existing large enterprise base.

Customer 109

Customer Custom Software Development Los Angeles 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Carlsbad-based satellite operator ViaSat 's new satellite platform, the ViaSat-3, which it announced earlier this week, will support 4K video streaming, and more than 100 Megabits per second residential Internet, according to the firm. The first two, new ViaSat-3 satellites--planned to launch in 2019--will have more bandwdith than all of the approximately 400 commercial communications satellites in space today, combined, according to the company.

Platform 109

Platform Networking Company Companies 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Los Angeles-based real estate lending marketplace Patch Of Land said this morning that it has signed a deal with an un-named East Coast credit fund, to invest $250M in loans on its platform. Patcdh Of Land--which is led by Jason Fritton--said the deal calls for the credit fund to purchase loans in a "forward flow arrangement". Patch of Land provides loans to professional, real estate investors through its marketplace.

Los Angeles 109

Los Angeles Platform Invest Funding 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Los Angeles-based video streaming app and video distribution service Frequency , which is led by Blair Harrison, said today that it has inked a video news deal with millenial-focused video news service Newsy. Financial details of the content licensing deal were not disclosed. Frequency aggregates and distributes video content to mobile and other devices.

News 109

News Content Los Angeles Mobile 109